Mohan Sinha
14 Apr 2026, 23:32 GMT+10
ROME, Italy: After U.S. President Donald Trump directly attacked Pope Leo XIV, the head of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church told Reuters on April 13 that he had no intention of getting into a debate with the president, but that he plans to continue speaking out against war.
In comments aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where the first U.S. pope launched a 10-day tour to four African countries, the pontiff also said the Christian message was being "abused".
"I don't want to get into a debate with him," Leo said as he greeted journalists on the plane. "I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing."
Speaking in English, the pope said he would continue to speak out stridently against war. He said he would seek to promote peace, dialogue, and multilateral relationships among the states to find just solutions to problems.
He said that too many people were suffering and too many innocents were being killed everywhere in the world. Someone had to stand up and say there was a better way, he added.
Leo, who is from Chicago, has recently become a strong critic of the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran. On Saturday, he spoke out against what he called the "madness of war" during a peace appeal.
In what seemed like a response to the pope's criticism of the conflict and the White House's strict immigration policies, Trump said over the weekend that Leo was "terrible".
"Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Get a daily dose of Los Angeles Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Los Angeles Herald.
More InformationROME, Italy: After U.S. President Donald Trump directly attacked Pope Leo XIV, the head of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church told...
After the breakdown of talks in Pakistan, the ceasefire between the US and Iran is more fragile than ever, and now seems likely to...
HAVANA, Cuba: Already struggling with the U.S. energy blockade, people in the Cuban capital have started packing their bicycles, scooters,...
LONDON, U.K.: Oil prices surged above US$100 a barrel on Monday as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, including...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: In a setback to President Donald Trump, a federal judge dismissed his US$10 billion defamation lawsuit against the...
TEL AVIV< Israel (ANI) - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday (local time) visited southern Lebanon alongside senior...
SAN FRANCISCO, U.S.: OpenAI said it had addressed a security issue linked to a third-party developer tool, adding that there was no...
LOS ANGELES/MONTREAL: Global supply chains are being reshaped as companies search for alternative shipping routes to bypass disruptions...
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico: Despite losing its status decades ago as one of the nation's main arteries, people from around the world still...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: U.S. lawmakers are calling for investigations into prediction market platform Polymarket after a series of...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Amazon is expanding its push into healthcare by offering a new weight-loss pill from Eli Lilly through in-clinic...
LOS ANGELES, California: Jasveen Sangha, better known as the woman who sold actor Matthew Perry the ketamine that killed him in 2023,...
